The present invention relates to trash receptacles having illuminated advertising panels. In particular, the present invention relates to the provision of a uniformly illuminated advertising panel for a trash receptacle that requires less power than prior art illuminated trash receptacles, simpler installation of the lighting devices, and a more compact panel design.
Trash receptacles having advertising panels have been known in the art. Additionally, with the advent of low energy light sources, illumination of such advertising panels has also become known in the art. Until now, light bulbs have been used to illuminate the panels. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 757,403 to Leveen shows a waste paper box having sides formed from transparent slides with advertising matter painted thereon. Electrical illuminating devices, such as incandescent bulbs, are provided in a space behind the slides and an inner box (in which the waste is collected). With the popularity of solar power, it has become known to power the light bulbs of illuminated trash receptacles with solar cells and electrical storage batteries, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,643 to Stamps, Jr.
However, the lighting devices used to illuminate prior art trash receptacles cannot uniformly illuminate an advertising panel because known light bulbs are of a set size and shape that does not closely correspond to the size and shape of standard advertising panels. The size of the light bulb behind the advertising panel is generally smaller than the surface area of the advertising panel. Thus, the portion of the advertising panel behind which the light bulb is positioned is generally more brightly illuminated than the other portions of the panel.
Moreover, because of the typical shape of currently available light bulbs, a compartment that is several times the thickness of the advertising panel itself must be provided to accommodate the desired lighting device that illuminates the advertising panel. Because the light bulbs that have been used in prior art illuminated trash receptacles also generate a significant amount of heat which may damage the advertising panel, sufficient space must be provided not only to accommodate the light bulb itself, but also to provide sufficient spacing between the light bulb and the advertising panel to protect the panel from damage from the bulb.
Another drawback of the use of common lighting devices used in the prior art is that the devices burn out and must be regularly replaced. Generally, incandescent light bulbs are screwed into a socket. Thus, sufficient access to the interior space in which the lighting mechanism is housed must be provided to unscrew the burnt out bulb and replace it with a new one. Flourescent light bulbs, although lasting longer than incandescent bulbs, do burn out and must also be replaced. This requires precise alignment of the fluorescent bulb in its respective socket for a proper fit. Thus, flourescent bulbs also require sufficient access space for replacement so that proper alignment of the bulb and the connection socket may be achieved without also covering the bulb (to support the bulb and provide a guide for the bulb to approach the socket, while also interfering with light transmission to the advertising panel).
A related drawback is the sensitivity of the lighting devices that have been used in prior art illuminated trash receptacles. Incandescent bulbs have filaments that not only wear out but also break if subjected to sufficient impact or vibrations. Flourescent bulbs are subject to malfunction in certain environments. Thus, under certain weather conditions, such as extremely low temperatures, the gases within the flourescent bulbs do not function properly, causing the bulb to flicker, thereby interfering with uniform illumination of the advertising panel.